coachmen freedom express 192rbs

SoundGuy wrote:
Last Train - while we're on the subject of towing a trailer like the 192RBS with a V6 Ridgeline as you do or a V8 Silverado as I do the question for those contemplating a trailer like this might be - is there an significant difference in fuel mileage between these two vehicles when not towing and when towing? I typically see ~ 15 miles to the US gallon around town, ~ 22 mpg highway when not towing, maybe a couple mpg less if the terrain is hilly and/or it's quite windy, and typically between 10.5 to 12.5 mpg when towing our 192RBS - rarely if ever below 10 mpg but not much greater if it's hilly and/or windy, well into the 12s if the roads are relatively flat and relatively calm, an overall average perhaps of ~ 11.5 mpg, which is pretty good relatively speaking. In comparison, how does your Ridgeline do? :@

Also curious - with my 192RBS averaging ~ 4800 lbs loaded & ready to camp I typically run ~ 625 lbs of gross tongue weight so I'm wondering if you're running ~ 4600 lbs GVW how (and why) you keep the tongue weight down so low, ~ 11%. :h

Those are both great questions, SoundGuy. And maybe this will help a potential buyer of a TT like our 192RBS have some additional decision points.

Regarding mileage . . . First of all the Gen 1 (2006-2014 models) Ridgeline (ours is a 2011 model) never was known for its fuel efficiency - especially in its later years when competitive vehicles surpassed it in technology. With that background, in a non- towing regime around town we typically get 16-18mpg. On interstates - like our trip to the Appalachains for Thanksgiving - we get 19-22mpg varying with terrain, of course.

When towing it's roughly 1/2 that we get around town without towing. Specifically, (I just checked my mileage-trip log/spreadsheet), over the 12,203.3 miles we have towed our 192RBS (including since we pulled it off the dealer's lot), our Ridgeline has averaged 9.13mpg. Sometimes we have averaged over 10mpg but when the winds have hit us hard much lower. I just reviewed one hunting trip I had last year that showed 7.6mpg. My notes showed dead-on headwinds that afternoon of 18-20mph on that short, 63 mile run. All mpg figures were hand calculated.

So perhaps back to the general point of this thread, anyone towing a travel trailer should recognize that fuel cost is a necessary part of this recreational hobby. For some it's more and for others less so. Each person has to decide what is acceptable in their situation.

Regarding tongue weight . . . We have kept our tongue weights in that spectrum simply because it has unfailingly worked very well. We have never had a hint of sway or instability, despite the inevitable winds and maneuvers that come with towing. It appears that we have hit a sweet spot in weight and balance for our truck and TT. Honda's specs allow for two 150 lb passengers on board plus an allowance for additional personal gear for each. Max tongue weight in these conditions is 600 lbs. And, FWIW our truck's yellow sticker notes a maximum 1,470 lb payload. Throw in a standard heavy duty transmission cooler, a couple of radiator fans and a very efficient all-wheel drive . . . The system works.

I should note that our truck now has over 152,000 miles on the odometer, and there will come a day when we will need to move on to another truck, but our Ridgeline still doesn't have a squeak or rattle and is extremely comfortable as a daily driver, so for now we're fine with it. That said, I'm a great admirer of the great 1/2 tons out there, and one of those may be ours one day. But if we do,we lose AWD, our dual action tailgate, our in-bed trunk that holds a ton of stuff, easily fitting in our garage and probably my wife's ability to see over the hood (we're talkin' really short!)!